I have heard a lot of talk lately about trends in yacht clubs where senior membership is getting older, less active, and quickly disappearing – a trend that can’t be reversed. As well, I hear a theory that young people are not buying boats.

I am here to say, as a Viking sailor, that I don’t believe the hype.

I believe there is a different way to approach attracting members to a sailing club; the future of clubs lies with incredible vintage boats out there that have a whole second life waiting to unfold. The Viking28 is such a vintage boat: manufactured in the hundreds during the 1970’s, easily purchased today, and a great performing boat under sail. This is the boat of our One-Design Fleet.

The Viking28 Fleet at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club has been the embodiment of this approach. We have built up a fleet of seven Viking28’s (soon to be eight) that race regularly, with trophies organized for the top boats, and a schedule that includes the ABYC OPEN in the spring, the QCYC OPEN in the fall, and a variety of regattas between. The fleet has brought in at least ten new senior members to our club in the past two years and has been effective at bringing Viking owners from other clubs to get involved with our events. The fleet is awash with crew who are consistent, keen and excited. The fleet presents great sailing, camaraderie, and it is all happening in boats that are worth little to nothing where every dollar invested goes to greater performance.

The fleet has become a focal point within the club, attracting skilled sailors and changing the idea of what a one-design fleet can be. People ask: how is it that we are doing this?

The Viking28 fleet at ABYC started with simple deceit. Two friends owned the ever-venerable Viking Blythe Spirit. Knowing of another Viking available for the taking, they conspired with another buddy: he would purchase a third Viking, the robust Firefly, after roping Greg, the writer, into adopting the second Viking Tecumseh. It took some misrepresentation for their plan of subversion to go off smoothly. Immediately, we had a fleet nucleus of owners who were good friends with competitive spirit.

This playful jousting proved to be attractive, as there are many sailors out there who want to have a keel boat suitable for loafing, but also something they can use to show their racing skills. Perhaps taking a second mortgage for a boat is not an option; maybe a race boat should have some scars and a few stories to tell. This is our mantra. As a result, in the past 16 months, the fleet has grown by another 4 boats – but this was not by chance. To make growth happen, the fleet core has gone to lengths to get new members, including delivering a Viking from Hamilton to Toronto, sharing sails, and purchasing a boat when we weren’t sure there would be an owner to take over – above all, the enthusiasm for these boats has consistently won people over - and so the fleet grows.

This really, is not a new formula: when sailing during my twenties on the east coast of the US, I saw club after club, fleet after fleet employing these methods. Be it Thistles, Lightnings, or Stars, these fleets focussed on low capital cost, good sportsmanship and having boats immediately available for like-minded sailors. Our fleet is constantly looking for ways to overcome the mental and financial hurdles of joining our fleet. In the end, we don’t try to sell potential members ‘boat ownership at a club’, we show the excitement of racing eccentric old yachts with friends, while being the stewards of an ethos that has drifted through the doors of our sailing clubs for decades.

I suspect this was the mindset in the past, when sailors raced Tumlarens in the ‘40s, or Dragons in the ‘60s: fixing boats, racing boats, building your fleet.

I am quite certain it is the future.

- Greg Reuter

Greg Reuter is a Viking28 sailor, ABYC club member, and President of World Viking28 Class Association. We are always looking to expand our Fleet! For more information, find us on Facebook at Viking28 Sailboats.

A favourite destination for many boaters and tourists alike is the lovely Mackinaw Island. Sitting in Lake Huron on the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac in the state of Michigan, it covers almost ten kilometres, of which 80% is park land. It was a sacred place of the Anishinaabe and home of the Gitche Manitou (Great Spirit) some 700 years prior to the arrival of the first Europeans.

According to legend, the Island was created by the Great Hare, Michabou, and was the first land to appear after the recession of the Great Flood.

I think my favourite program was Bonanza. I would rush home after school, get my homework done, clean up the dishes, and then I would watch the ol’ West come alive with those three handsome, funny brothers who thrived on adventure.

At the time, I thought that the adventuresome West - and the pioneers who could handle just about anything thrown their way - was the stuff of make-believe.

We will probably look back on 2018 and 2019 as the years when power boats were reinvented by the combined forces of a booming U.S. economy and the wide-spread development and introduction of so many amazing new outboard engines. The result has been the development of many remarkable new designs!

One of the most inventive designers and builders is Jeanneau, and the NC 1095 is their new flagship outboard cruiser by Centkowski & Denert Design.

Lagoon has been building catamarans for too long to make a false move. That’s why when the management felt that their tried-and-true 450 model, long a cruising favourite and winner of transatlantic events such as the ARC, was getting near retirement age, they went back to a team that has designed many successful models for them: Nauta Design for interiors and VPLP design with Patrick le Quément for naval architecture and exteriors.

We spoke with Nauta Design’s Massimo Gino about his work with Lagoon.

“Along with the many custom superyacht projects we do, we have been collaborating with Lagoon since 2009.

Grounding is always an interesting idea when on a boat. Can a boat be ‘grounded’ when it’s in the water?

Electrical ground is a term used to describe the reference point in an electrical circuit from which voltage is measured, a common return path for electric current, or a direct physical connection to the earth.

Connection to ground is also important in order to trigger protective mechanisms in the event of failure of internal insulation, and also limits the build-up of static electricity.

Watch for a tsunami of innovative new boating products in the chandlery this year, as accessory manufacturers battle for your attention and dollars.

This past decade has been a real up-and-down ride for the companies who make boating equipment. When the recession hit in 2008/2009, new product development for most manufacturers ground to a sharp halt as they focused on more pressing issues, like simply keeping the lights on. It took a few years for the economy to stabilize and for the first handful of new items to begin slowly trickling out to market. For guys like me who make a living writing about new boating gear, those were pretty lean years, let me tell you.

You most likely operate your vessel with batteries that are rechargeable. Rechargeable batteries account for nearly half of worldwide battery sales. Within the rechargeable battery category, there are many different types of chemistries that are used. The most proven type of chemistry is the lead acid chemistry.

Wet cell or “flooded” batteries and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries are both considered lead batteries and contain an electrolyte solution which causes a chemical reaction and produces electrons. These batteries are recharged when put in contact with a reverse current. But, given the way they are designed, they each have their own pros and cons and these variations should be considered before use.

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